I Love You
by raineoftears
Summary: ShikaIno pairing. This was not originally written as a fanfic, although the more I thought about it the more I thought it should be. The original on DA, under the same title. Not much has changed, though. This is my first story, so please be mildly nic


He kissed her forehead, right in the middle. Then he sighed contentedly as he pulled away just enough to look down at her. She looked up with her baby blues that he loved so much. To him, they were the skies that his life was written on, eternal and unendingly bright and beautiful. "Do you have to go?" she whined, grinning as she did so. "You know I do. Why do you always insist on keeping me until I'm running later than usual?" She laughed and managed to steal one more kiss as she scurried out of reach, narrowly missing the hand that swatted at her bottom. Then she screamed and ran as he chased her around the tree and through their yard, laughing as he finally caught her from behind and swung her around in a victory twirl. "Fine", he said, in between kisses. "You win a few more. I have to go now!" A few more from her. "Fine. Go", she said. One more, and he's finally able to reluctantly leave. He turns at the end of the walk, and looks at her and smiles. "I'll be home soon. I love you." 

He was found in the morning, a little before dawn. The patrol couldn't tell who or what had done it, or why. There was nothing, nothing to go on. They were well liked, this couple. After all, most of the village was present when they married.They had watched them grow up together. Who would do such a thing? And who would tell her? They just looked at each with tears in their eyes and a heavy heart.

And just like that, the world stopped spinning. The stars fell out of the sky, and the silence of the night gave way to a soul shattering cry of despair. Many people would speak to their friends the next day, saying "Hey, did you feel something odd last night? I was sound asleep when I was woken up by the oddest feeling. I was just so...sad. I can't explain it."

She never got used to coming home to the house being empty and dark. The night would steal the warmth out of her body, but it couldn't reach her soul. That had been shattered the night that he had left. No warmth, no life existed there now. At the funeral service, the room had grown still and silent when she finally entered the room. All who had known them together knew that they were something special. They were unique, as if they had been bound together by an unseen force that fused their very beings together before they had even met. When they finally realized they loved each other, they had both come alive. Everyone saw it, and now no one could bear to think upon its undoing.

Although she looked the same physically, an unseen darkness had covered her, invisible to the naked eye. When in the same room with her, your ears heard nothing, but your mind could hear her weeping. Your heart would skip a beat with her sobs, and it was all you could do to keep from sobbing yourself. "So sad, so sad", the people would murmur.

The caretaker at the cemetery would often see her resting against his headstone at night, as if seeking a reassurance from the cold granite that could not be found in this world. He never saw her coming or going, no matter how hard he tried to catch her. He thought that if he could talk to her, he might be able to help her. After all, he had been in this business for years upon years. He ought to know something about comforting.

One cold morning, a little before dawn, he finally saw his chance. She had her back to him, sitting on the ground huddled against the headstone as usual. She hadn't seen him yet, so he took the opportunity to try to sneak around and catch her. He crept behind her and put his hand on her shoulder. And then withdrew it. He smiled a sad little smile as he realized that he never would get that opportunity to speak to her, for she had already departed long before he reached her side.

The whole village shut itself down and all the people attended her funeral. Although it wasn't thought of as a funeral. The villagers thought of it as a going away party. You see, they knew that she had gone to see him, and that they were finally happy again. The only important thing, they say, is that Ino and Shikamaru are together again. They say if you're out late at night, by yourself, perhaps taking out the trash or letting your dog out, you can sometimes hear them laughing. You might even feel them run by, chasing each other in a game of eternal lover's tag. For although rare in today's world, soul-twins do exist.  
Even in the hereafter.


End file.
